Still the only drama I care about.
This year, I must say I was back in my k-drama phase. I’ve seen so many great k-drama’s this year that I just had to create another drama list and share which ones have captured my attention!
As the cold weather approaches us, what better way to spend it then being cozy and watching a show that’s worthwhile? I enjoyed each one of these k-dramas throughout the year and forgot how much fun it is to watch them! I say that because I honestly haven’t seen this many k-dramas in a year since 2022, which was when I first started to discover Korean culture.
Altogether, I hope you enjoy going through this list and a k-drama can pique your interest! The list is in no particular order of which one was better than the other. Each one was amazing and have their own charms. It’s simply organized from which one I saw first and the last one I saw. Enjoy!
Weak Hero Class
I mean it when I say this, I wish I can watch this k-drama again for the first time.
Everything about the Weak Hero series is so well-done, this drama is adapted from the webtoon by the same name that came out in 2018. The first season premiered in 2022 on a platform called Waave and I remember hearing about the drama around that time. When I saw it this year that it was officially a part of Netflix, I was pleasantly surprised!
I began to watch it out of curiosity and I was hooked on the first episode! To explain briefly, Weak Hero revolves around Yeon-Sieun, an intelligent and deeply introverted student who encounters bullies in his school. Initially, it’s out of jealousy because he is a model student and although Sieun is physically weak, he uses his intelligence to overcome the bullying and on the way meets and befriends Suho and Beomseok. While Sieun surpasses and fights the bullying, it ultimately leads to more darker troubles ahead for him.
Weak Hero does an amazing job at silent storytelling. There are many scenes that portray what the characters are feeling/thinking or what outcomes are about to happen without any dialogue needed. The theme of friendship is important within both seasons, and all together the story, music, acting, writing, details, it was all absolutely amazing and binge-worthy. I remember after I finished season 1, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
This k-drama had a familiar face that I recognized, and it was Choi Hyunwook who starred in 25-21, of course he is a really good actor and I also thought his character was so effortlessly cool, but I became an instant fan of Park Jihoon who portrays Sieun. Jihoon’s acting was one of the best I have seen in k-dramas, he has beautiful and expressive eyes that he used to his ability in many scenes. Without Jihoon saying anything I could understand everything he was feeling, and I think that’s pure talent! Honestly the whole cast did a great job, but Jihoon stole the show for me.
Season 1 of this k-drama became an overnight sensation when it was first released on Waave, and while most second seasons in a series could be a miss, I thought season 2 of the story still flowed nicely and the additional new characters were likable.
Overall, the Weak Hero Class series gained it’s own fandom and both are available to watch on Netflix! All I can hope for now is that there is a season 3!
When Life Gives You Tangerines
This drama was so beautiful and one of the best ones I have seen in a long time. However, be prepared to have a box of tissues by your side because the storyline pulls at your heartstrings. One main thing I can say about this k-drama, is that it makes you appreciate and love your parents so much more.
When Life Gives You Tangerines has an ensemble cast, but the main characters are: IU, Park Bogum, Moon Sori, and Park Haejoon. The story goes back and forth within different time frames in South Korea, from the early 1950’s – late 80’s and early 90’s.
The story is about Ae-Sun, portrayed by IU, who is a young girl that although poor, has big dreams of becoming a poet and Gwan-Sik, portrayed by Park Bogum, her childhood friend who ultimately loves and protects her.
Through these two characters, we see the trials and tribulations they both face individually and eventually together as they get married young and try to make a living. The story then transitions to their first-born daughter Yang Geumyeong’s life, which is also portrayed by IU while the parents are then portrayed by Moon Sori and Park Haejoon.
I have to admit, when I first started this k-drama I found it to be a bit boring because it does go at a slow pace, however I continued to watch it and later became invested in the storyline. This k-drama deals with themes of love, family, and the most impactful one, grief. It’s shown throughout the drama that the death of someone you love never really leaves you, your life just becomes much bigger around it.
The reason why I say this k-drama makes you appreciate your parents more, is because you see how much parents have to sacrifice to make their children get the life they never got to have. As a child of immigrants from Punjab India, this drama felt personal to me. It was unbelievable how similar my parents and Geumyeong’s parents were to each other. I saw glimpses of both my mom and dad in Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik.
I thought everyone in this drama did amazing acting and there were tears shed in a few episodes, but what hasn’t happened since I saw 25-21 was the full on sobbing, and that happened with me on the last bittersweet episode. When Life Gives You Tangerines is a must-watch for everyone. The top-class acting, attention to detail, gorgeous cinematography, and beautiful writing made this k-drama a standout for me.
Twinkling Watermelon
If you read my last k-drama post, 25-21 and Hometown Cha Cha Cha are two of my all-time favorite k-dramas with 25-21 as my ultimate favorite. I have to say though, after I finished watching this one, it has taken place as my new all-time favorite!
Of course, the other two are still close to my heart, but Twinkling Watermelon had a very unique and interesting storyline that was like an adventure throughout each episode. It was so much fun to watch!
The story revolves around Ha Eungyeol, a high school student who loves music and plays the guitar. Eungyeol’s family are all hearing-impaired and after he gets into an argument with his dad, Eungyeol suddenly is transported back in time to 1995 where he meets the teenage version of his dad.
This drama features the same actor that was in Weak Hero Class 2, Ryeoun who plays the main character, Eungyeol. Choi Hyunwook is also in this drama and takes on the role of Eungyeol’s dad, Ha Yichan. Seol Inah and Shin Eunsoo are also a part of the cast, and they both did amazing!
This k-drama had me laughing out loud in many of the scenes, the dynamic between Eungyeol and Yichan was one of my favorites. I was very curious during each episode on how the story would play out because so much was happening, but it all came together as the drama continued.
Ryeoun as Eungyeol did a great job in this k-drama, I also became a fan of him! While I did think he was a good actor in Weak Hero, he really shined in Twinkling Watermelon. I realized that Ryeoun is actually so cute! He is quite a versatile actor because he looked so different in this k-drama playing an intelligent and handsome student compared to his role as the flamboyant Baku in Weak Hero. I was amazed at Ryeoun’s acting ability and admit that I did have a crush on him!
Overall, this k-drama was a thrill to watch, and I could watch it again too. Near the end, I did shed some tears with how things turned out for Eungyeol’s family, it had some heartwarming moments and carries the message that everything happens for a reason, we may not realize it right away, but it works in our favor. If you like time-travel, cute high school romance, funny father/son moments, and a good story, this k-drama is the one!
Bon Appétit Your Majesty
This was the last k-drama I saw this year around middle/end of November. I decided to only watch this because it kept showing up for me on Netflix. Turns out, it was one that I enjoyed watching!
This is another time-travel k-drama. However, instead of being teleported to the late 90’s, we as an audience are teleported to the Joseon Dynasty in Korea, which was around the late 15th and early 16th century!
At first I thought the story was a bit cliche, but as I continued to watch more, I found it to be enjoyable. The story is about a top skilled chef named Jiyoung. After winning a contest and taking a historical cookbook on her flight back to Korea from France, Jiyoung is transported to the Joseon Dynasty, ruled under a tyrant king named Lee Yiheon.
Jiyoung’s modern dishes made in the era at the time, makes her become appointed as Yiheon’s new royal chef. As Jiyoung begins to cook unique kinds of food for the tyrant king while also trying to find a way to go back to the present, the king eventually starts to fall in love with her and slowly change his ways.
What made me continue to watch this k-drama was the artistic way all the food was made using cookware from that time period. I found it interesting to see how food was prepared back then and feel like this was the heart of the drama. A lot of the small plots within the story had to do with food.
Lee Chaemin, the actor who plays the tyrant king is exactly 10 years younger than the lead actress Im Yoona. But despite this age gap, I thought the chemistry between the two actors was believable and romantic.
There’s a charm to this k-drama that made me want to continue watching it, maybe it was because I wanted to see how long Jiyoung would be in the Joseon Dynasty. Imagine falling in love with a historical tyrant king but you know you don’t belong in that era?
When I found out I was on the 12th last episode, I was hoping for more! Overall, it was a cute and lighthearted drama that took me by surprise on how much I liked it. The storyline may be simple, but this k-drama become another favorite of mine this year!
Film
Honorable Mention – Hear Me: Our Summer
If you read my latest post, South Korea was my number one country I wanted to visit and turns out I got to fulfill that dream over the summer! It was an amazing time, and I definitely will visit again one day because I loved it so much! The flight to Korea was 15 hours, which meant that I had to pass the time besides sleeping on the plane, which I already can’t do. I had to take a melatonin gummy for me to even sleep for a bit!
I flew Asiana Airlines and there was lots of Korean entertainment to watch on the plane. What caught me by surprise when I checked the movies category, was the film Hear Me: Our Summer. I’ve been wanting to see it for a while after I saw a cute edit of the film on Instagram.
As soon as I started and finished the film, I was so amazed at how good it was. I didn’t expect to love it so much! The storyline is simple yet unique once you continue watching it. It’s about a boy named Yongjun who although finished college, doesn’t have any dream yet on what he wants to pursue as a career. When his mom tells him to do some kind of work over the summer, Yongjun decides to do a job delivering lunch boxes. It’s from here he encounters Yeoreum, a girl who he immediately falls in love with.
I would write more, but I feel like it would give away a major part of the film. What I will say though, is there is not a lot of dialogue because Yongjun and Yeoreum communicate with sign-language throughout the film.
While watching, I was in tears, quietly sniffling on the plane trying not to draw attention to myself at one scene because it was so moving to me! I thought the acting of the main cast was so well done.
This film had the familiar face of Hong Kyung who played Beomseok in Weak Hero Class 1. I always knew that he was a good actor, but as the leading role in this film, Hong Kyung’s micro-expressions and the way he says his lines was so sincere. It made me realize how talented he is as an actor.
Roh Yoonseo who plays Yeoreum also did amazing with her character and Kim Minju as Yeoreum’s younger sister was really good as well. These three actors were mainly seen throughout the film.
Another reason why I think I liked this film so much, is because the premise has to do with characters that are hearing-impaired. Over the summer, I worked at a non-profit that focused on helping individuals with intellectual disabilities. A few people in the program were hearing-impaired, and I began to understand more deeply how individuals who have these disabilities complete their daily tasks and take on the day. I empathized even more with them and was inspired by them.
Therefore, when I saw this film, I could in a way feel the character’s feeling of discouragement or feeling left out when it came to day-to-day activities due to being hearing-impaired.
It was overall a beautiful feel-good film. There were some really aesthetic shots, great acting, and a simply unique storyline. Although it’s not a k-drama, I place it as an honorable mention because it’s a film I believe is worth watching!
Well there you have it! These are the k-drama’s I’ve watched this year that I loved! Watching a good k-drama is like a sweet escape to a different world, and personally I think nothing shows the term yearning more accurately than a k-drama that has romance.
It’s always fun to watch one that has a good story with great characters, and of course a good soundtrack.
Stay warm!
*all k-drama pics are from Pinterest
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